


Destined By Design

by phantasticphun



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Fashion Designer Dan Howell, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Model Phil Lester, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 01:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17132654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasticphun/pseuds/phantasticphun
Summary: Dan works as a bespoke tailor in London for a horrible, stuck-up man named Benji Addams. When supermodel (and Dan’s long-time celebrity crush) Phil Lester needs a suit to wear for the upcoming Featured Fashion Gala, Dan’s life will be changed forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quarterleigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterleigh/gifts).



“Blue, ah, yeah, a nice midnight navy blue,” Dan muttered under his breath, filling in the sketch of an overcoat with a scribble of colored pencil. He was balancing his sketchbook on his knees under his desk, bobbins and needles and thread, along with an almost-finished suit, scattered over the top. The messiness wasn’t the only reason he was hiding his sketchbook under the table, though. He knew he wasn’t really supposed to be drawing designs right now. Dan was supposed to be hemming the cuff of the pair of suit trousers he was assigned to be working on. He was almost finished with it, another suit to be added to the pile of orders he’d completed over the years of being a tailor, but man, was he a procrastinator, and  _ man _ , did he not want to work on that suit.

Dan worked for Benji Addams, an expert bespoke tailor and designer located on Savile Row in London. This was supposed to be his dream, right? Dan had gone to school for fashion and now he was drawing up designs for suit after suit (always approved by Benji Addams, himself) and sewing them for customers. He had formed many connections with both influential celebrities and unimportant people with far too much money on their hands doing his job, but still, the career wasn’t quite satisfying. Working for Benji was a stable job in a well-known and often-praised shop, but he didn’t have enough creative freedom to really express himself. Suits were suits, tuxedos were tuxedos, and yeah, he’d seen his work on models and red carpets but it really just wasn't his whole self. He couldn’t really be too proud. Those designs were what Benji wanted him to make, not what Dan really did. Everything he made was a standard, a seen-before, a Benji Addams suit, and yes, he was employed, but Dan felt like he could do so much more if he only had the chance.

Dan continued with his overcoat, only until Lori Cox, another designer at the boutique, sauntered over. Dan slammed close his book and spun his chair around to face her.

“Hey Lori,” he said, a somewhat-forced-smile forming on his face.

“Dan,” she laughed lightly, brushing her curly golden hair away from in front of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear, “You know you better finish that suit. The customer is coming in tomorrow for the final fitting and it’d be awful embarrassing to stay late or admit to Benji that it’s not finished.”

Dan placed his sketchbook on a far corner of his desk. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“Good,” Lori began to walk away from Dan’s area but on the way away, said, “Good luck with it! Let me see it before it goes out tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course,” Dan uttered under his breath. He took the needle and thread between his fingers and continued with the pant leg. Boring, yes, but a stable job and most people in the fashion world weren’t exactly stable, economically or otherwise. Dan chuckled at himself-- Benji was definitely not what one could consider stable most of the time-- and continued to sew.

 

~~~

 

Dan turned the key and swung open his apartment door. His flat was rather small but comfortable; it was just him, after all. He dropped his bag on his desk chair and took off his black coat, hanging it on the coat rack. He made his way back over to the desk and took out his sketchbook from his bag, setting it down. He opened it to the page he had been on earlier, adding a few last-minute details to the overcoat design, and took out his phone.

Turning on the appropriate lights and making sure the sketch looked presentable, Dan snapped a picture of it on his phone. He adjusted the color balance and sharpness of the photo and with a smile, opened Instagram. Before posting the picture, though, he looked through the likes of his previous post, one uploaded just last night, of a sketch of an over-sized, mid-thigh-length sweatshirt on a model that looked suspiciously like Dan’s favorite.

So... Dan might of had a bit of a crush on supermodel Phil Lester. No, actually, it was more of a big crush. Dan liked Phil a lot but Phil didn’t even know that Dan existed.

Until now.

For a while, now, Dan tagged Phil in his posts, assuming that his manager or personal assistant or whoever else was the one in charge of his social media presence and thinking that maybe they’d like his designs enough to show them to Phil, himself. Today, though, at 3:59 PM, Phil had liked the post and commented a simple, “Nice design, can’t wait to see more” with a smiley emoji. 

Now, of course, he couldn’t be positive that it was actually him, but it was bizarre to Dan that any person besides from Phil, himself, would comment, pretending to be Phil. Although, Dan thought, that’s what the job would be, right? Managing Phil’s social media?

Either way, really him or not, Dan was ecstatic. Phil, or at least someone close to him, wanted to see his designs!

He uploaded the picture of the overcoat with a smile, tagging Phil’s account once again, and in the description he said a flirty, “sure, i do like my designs, but i’d like them even more if i could see phil lester wearing them.”

That was enough of poking celebrities with a stick for the night-- a very cute, very hot celebrity with a jet-black quiff and gorgeous sky-blue eyes. Dan sighed to himself and grinned once more. Fuck, did he like that guy, and  _ fuck _ did he hope it was really Phil replying to his post.

 

~~~

 

The next day at work, Dan was scheduled to meet with his current customer for the last time, making sure the suit fit well and was up to the Benji Addams standard. The guy wasn’t anyone special, really. He was just some business executive at a company that Dan had never heard of, but he was assigned to him and despite his procrastination, the perfectionist in Dan made the suit spectacular. Dan really did have a talent for both tailoring and fashion as a whole, and it was evident in every single suit that he’d make.

After the man put on the suit, Dan cut an extra thread hanging from the trouser leg. Almost as soon as he came in, the man strutted out, a Benji Addams suit made by Dan Howell in a suit bag over his shoulder. 

Dan made his way back down the hall to his desk, the workspace where he drew up designs, cut fabric, and sewed-- along with hiding his sketchbook under the table on his knees when he was supposed to be doing one of those other things-- and began to clean up. He was only going at it for a couple of minutes before Lori came around.

“So the customer was happy?” She asked as Dan turned to face her with a half-smile.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dan shrugged, pulling out a drawer and placing a couple spools of thread inside. “Kind of normal sort of thing. A gruff ‘thank you’ and whatever. Nothing too special.”

“Well,” she began, “That’s what’s expected, yeah? Professionalism. It’s a workplace after all. It’s not like you’re going to be best mates, buddies for life after you make a suit for some guy.”

He turned to face her, leaning-- almost sitting but not quite-- on the edge of his desk. “I know, Lori. You’re not my mum, you know.”

“I know,” she said, a smile with twinkling, perfect teeth accompanying her words, “I’m far too young to be. Otherwise, though.” She paused for a moment before breaking it with a “Actually, speaking of which…”

“Speaking of which?” Dan questioned, his eyebrow lifted slightly and a smirk on his face.

Lori jabbed Dan’s side with her elbow. “I’m not pregnant, you dolt,” she said, but then continued with a smile. “Like a mum I really must tell you everything, that’s all. Benji wants us in the lobby in twenty minutes.”

Dan huffed. “Ah, great. Bet that’s going to be fun.”

As Lori exited the room, she laughed a little. “I don’t know, I’ve heard some buzzings that it might not be as bad as you might think.”

 

~~~

 

Dan trudged downstairs to the lobby, meeting Lori on the way and standing by her. They waited for a minute or two before Benji stepped out. He brushed his hand backwards through the long, dark hair on top of his head and flung it sideways over the shone sides. He cleared his throat.

“Good afternoon everyone,” he said, nodding his head once and then sticking his nose back upwards into the air. “I have some exciting news.”

Lori leaned towards Dan and stood on her toes for a moment, “I told you it wouldn’t be bad.”

“Because he has modeled our suits before, supermodel Phil Lester has requested to get something from us for the Featured Fashion Gala red carpet in two months.” 

Dan almost stopped breathing. Lori looked up at him for a moment and they made eye contact, grounding him again.  _ Fuck _ , Dan thought,  _ Oh my god, fucking shitting fuck. Phil! _

Benji continued, “I will choose one of you to design his suit, and your name will be connected to the superior quality and excellent artistry that is Benji Addams Bespoke Tailoring forevermore.”

Dan’s eyes sparkled at the idea. He could have the chance to actually design something for Phil!  _ Phil Lester! _ Dreamy, wonderful, hot-as-hell Phil Lester! And all he had to do was convince Benji that he was worth it.

He couldn’t concentrate on whatever else Benji was saying, thinking far too much about his ideas. As soon as he was finished and they were dismissed, though, Dan ran up to Benji. Maybe a suit couldn’t be completely original, it’d just be a suit after all, but at least he’d be the one making it for Phil. 

“Benji!” Dan said, “I just finished with my last customer and I’d be interested in taking up the Phil Lester project. I could show you some designs that I think would definitely fit his style and would support your name well, and…”

Benji rolled his eyes and scoffed. “ _ You?! _ ” He chortled. “Your talent is no match for Phil’s superior needs. All you can make are some simple suits.”

Dan’s face dropped, his brown shining eyes fading into muddy disappointment.

“Unless you can show me something absolutely astonishing by tomorrow, I’ll be looking for other… talent. If that’s what I can call what you have.” Benji smiled once again, a too-perfect sneer of ostentation. 

“Oh, uh…” Dan stammered. He then regained some semblance of confidence and responded, “Well, then, I’ll have to draw up some designs for him tonight. And I can show you some of my favorites that are older but still applicable! And then I’ll show you them all tomorrow.”

“Fine then,” Benji shrugged, “Show me what you’ve got tomorrow. And then we’ll see, Dan.”

“Thank you,” Dan said, then nodded. “I won’t disappoint. I promise.”

  
  


~~~

 

That night, Dan collected his absolute favorite designs and put all his effort into drawing as many new ones as possible. Phil wanted a suit for the Featured Fashion Gala, but Dan decided he’d stretch the definition of the traditional sort of suit just a little bit. He took his few favorites and uploaded them to his Instagram, making a collage and tagging Phil once again. In the caption, he wrote, “if you like these, make sure to look for me at benji addams tomorrow. the name’s dan howell.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Benji!” Dan called with a portfolio of his work in his arms, walking towards him. Benji was upstairs by the tailors’ workspaces talking to a secretary and someone else who was probably in trouble for some little, insignificant mistake. Benji loved to be angry at people for the smallest of things.  


Benji turned around only to roll his eyes. “Not right now, Dan, I’m in the middle of something.”

“Okay, I’ll wait. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve got some designs to show you for Phil and--”

“ _ Go away, Dan _ ,” Benji growled. “I’m really quite stressed out and I don’t need your ridiculous frilly designs to get in my way of what’s really important. Phil’s coming in, like, an hour and a half and we’re not prepared at all.”

Dan pressed further. “Exactly, I want to show you the designs before he comes so we can get started right away, so I thought--”

Benji cut him off once again. “You thought wrong. You think wrong an awful lot, Dan. It’s really surprising that you haven’t been fired yet, actually, so I suggest you get yourself out of here as soon as you can before I change that fact.”

And at that, Dan nodded, tears forming in his eyes, and he darted to his desk.

He put his head in his hands and god, no, he couldn’t be crying. Benji couldn’t do that to him, could he? Well, evidently, he could, and Dan didn’t like that at all. He tried, he tried to stop, but he couldn’t help himself and let out a silent sob.

As Dan sat in his chair, designs now scattered around him, with his head down resting in his arms on top of the desk, Lori walked by. She stopped for a moment and looked at him, unsure if this was a moment that Dan wanted to be by himself or if she should go over and help. She ended up walking over and touching his arm lightly. When Dan lifted his head up his face was red and eyes puffy, and Lori asked a gentle, “Are you okay?”

Dan sniffled and forced a smile. “I’m… I’m fine. Just dramatic, that’s all.” He chuckled half-heartedly. “You know me.”

Lori tried to smile back at Dan, but had a hard time, herself. Lori knew what Benji Addams was like; she knew how horrible it was to be yelled at by him, knew how Benji loved to bully all of his employees, and knew how everyone stayed there for a job alone, and not to be emotionally or creatively supported. “Tell me if you need anything, Dan. Please.”

“Yeah,” Dan said, a more true smile on his face this time, “Of course.” 

 

~~~

 

“Here at Benji Addams Bespoke Tailoring, we offer both ready-to-wear suits that you, Sir, would certainly not buy; along with the most high-fashion, haute couture suits, tuxedos, and other statement clothing that our team of skilled tailors will make and design for you, especially,” Benji explained as he, Phil Lester, and Phil’s manager made their way to Benji’s extravagant office. It was a dark room with sleek gray furniture, a giant desk, and plush white seats for clients and business partners to relax in.

“Actually,” Phil said with a smile, as Benji sat behind his desk and Phil and his manager settled down in two chairs in front, “I’d really like my suit to be made by Dan Howell. He works here, yeah?”

“Dan Howell?” Benji repeated in an incredulous tone, scoffing at the thought. “Believe me, you don’t want him.”

“No, actually,” Phil looked between his manager and Benji, “He uploads some sketches of his designs online and they’re fantastic. They’re gorgeous. And I really do want to wear something by Dan to the Gala because from what I’ve seen, his work is great.”

Benji rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Well, sure, his work is okay, but nothing that you, the  _ amazing _ Phil Lester, would want, I’m sure.”

“Really,” Phil nodded, “I want him. Allow me to talk to him, please?”

Phil’s manager nodded encouragingly at Benji.

“Fine then, I’ll go get him.” Benji stood up from his seat, but before exiting the room, said, “Don’t be too excited though. Soon enough you’ll see that he’s really not at all what you’d like.”

 

~~~   
  


Dan couldn’t believe this was happening. He couldn’t believe that Benji had come up to his desk and said that Phil wanted to talk to him.  _ Him! _ Phil really did see that Instagram post and he really, truly,  _ did _ like Dan’s drawings!

His breath caught in his throat as he stepped into Benji’s office, Phil turning in the white chair and grinning at him. Phil’s pitch-black quiff was perfectly coiffed, a pair of boxy black glasses on his nose, a blue jean jacket over a white shirt on his broad chest, and ripped black jeans on his long legs. God, Phil was gorgeous, and Dan couldn’t believe that he was standing there, right in front of him. Dan didn’t pay any mind to Benji or the other woman, who he assumed was Phil’s manager, in the room.

Phil stood up and walked over to Dan, offering a handshake. Dan cautiously took it, trying not to look eager, trying to look cool and collected, but in reality failing miserably.

“Hi,” Phil said with a smirk, “I’m Phil Lester. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“H-Hello,” Dan stumbled over his words. “I’m Dan. Dan Howell.”

Phil nodded. “I know. I’ve seen your posts.” He then turned to address everyone in the room, “I’m sure Benji told you that, though? That I want to wear something by you at the Featured Fashion Gala?”

Dan nodded too-quickly and smiled wide. “Yeah, uh, yeah... Benji told me that you were considering to ask me to make your garment?”

“Considering? No way!” He watched as Dan’s face dropped a little, but then continued with a fast recovery, saying, “And by that I mean that I wouldn’t consider anyone else! I love what I’ve seen from you and,” he paused to lower his voice a little, to make the next part a little more private between the two of them. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind making something for me? To wear there?”

Dan adored the intimacy of his tone. “Definitely not.”

Benji stepped between the two, clearing his throat. He then addressed Phil and said, “Are you sure? Dan is really not very professional, he doesn’t have too much experience and, well, as you can see, his designs are… alternative.”

Phil nodded, stepping closer to Dan again. “And that’s exactly what I want.”

Phil’s manager, still sat in her chair, nodded once.

“Fine then,” Benji said and crossed his arms. “Go on, then, Dan. Bring him to your desk and make a list of things that he wants. You’ll draw up some designs for suits for him and then show him the best ones when he’ll be back in two days.”

As he shooed them away, Dan said a quick, “Thank you, Benji,” and Dan and Phil exited the room.

 

~~~

 

Dan was practically shaking with excitement. Phil was walking right next to him.  _ Him! _ And he was going to design Phil’s suit!  _ He was! _ And Phil was going to wear said suit!

_ Phil! _

He and Phil stepped into Dan’s workspace. Phil sat on a nearby chair and then realized that he should be closer, so he scooted along with it closer to Dan’s desk. Dan pushed his chair on the other side of the desk so that they were face-to-face, nothing separating them. 

Once settled, Dan gave a sort of out-of-breath smile and said, “It’s great to meet you. Finally.”

Phil cocked an eyebrow. “Finally?”

“Well, uh,” Dan laughed awkwardly, “I mean, I’ve seen you everywhere, and uh... yeah… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

Phil softly smiled back. “That’s okay.”

“So uh,” Dan gave another uncomfortable chuckle. “Let’s just get started. What are you looking for in the suit?” He grabbed a pen and notepad.

Phil shrugged. “Every design I’ve seen of your’s is great, so I’ve got confidence in you to figure something out.”

“Right, right, okay,” Dan nodded, although, god, was he nervous about that. “Could you give me any specifics? At all?”

“Well, hm,” Phil adjusted the glasses on his nose. “I like color. I know you like blacks and metallic and shiny things, and I…” He paused, staring a little longer than an average gaze at Dan. “I love that. Please include that somehow. But I like blue. And green, too. Those are my favorites.”

Dan nodded, scribbling everything down. “Yeah, anything else?”

“Uh, I mean, no, no, no, I guess not, but also-- I mean, but... I’m sorry,” Phil stammered, looking down at Dan, his hand smearing over the pen a little bit. It was endearing almost, Phil thought, but then backtracked and became confused that Dan-- this man he just met-- and his smeary left-handism was all suddenly so endearing. 

Dan looked up for a moment, just a moment, his brown doe-eyes especially prominent, and asked a soft, “What for?” He went back to scribbling things down on the notepad.

Phil whispered, barely a breath, “fuck,” and Dan immediately stopped writing again and looked up, longer this time.

“Oh, geez, now  _ I’m _ sorry. Is there something I need to get for you?” Dan said quickly. Awkwardly quickly. Everything he said in front of Phil seemed so damn awkward, but Phil saw his actions as something slightly more. “I’m so sorry, what do you need?” 

“Oh god,” Phil stammered, “I’m just sorry.  _ You shouldn’t _ be sorry. All I was going to say is that I don’t want to order you around. I see that…” he lowered his voice, “I see that Benji already does that enough to you.”

Dan nodded, just barely. “Yeah, but… it’s fine. I work for him, you know? And now I’m working for you, so order me around as you wish. I’m used to it.”

Shaking his head, Phil said, “No, I don’t want to do that. I want you to design something that you want me to wear, because I know that you’re talented. By your current logic, we’re both made to be ordered around. And wouldn’t everyone be made to be ordered around, then? And, well, yes, sometimes someone has to tell us what to do, but…”

“But  _ all of the time _ we should stand up for ourselves.” Dan smiled. 

“Exactly. Now,” Phil continued, “I’m psyched to see your designs soon. I know that whatever they’ll be, they’ll be fantastic. And so very, very you.”

~~~

 

There was a wonderful, excited buzzing throughout Dan for the rest of the day. It stayed in his body after Phil had left with a grin and his manager, it stayed when he began sketching designs, it stayed when Lori popped in for a moment to congratulate him, and it even stayed when Benji stopped into Dan’s workspace and said, “You better not screw this up or I’ll be firing you, Dan.” He wasn’t worried about getting fired, though, because he had just met Phil Lester and Phil, himself, said that he wanted Dan to make his Benji Addams-brand suit.

That night, in his quaint flat, Dan scribbled out design after new design, keeping in mind Phil, especially. He’d show them all to him in two days when he was to return, but until then, Dan would expend all of his energy on this task, alone: designing the suit for Phil and only Phil.

When Dan was dreaming in the warm, wonderful dark of his bedroom, he couldn’t help his subconscious from thinking about Phil in various designs of his; the suits that he had just drawn up in the last few hours as well as other favorites. Soon enough, though, Dan found himself groaning against the pillow in his arms and dreaming about Phil  _ not _ in his designs at all.

 

~~~

 

Dan sat by his desk, drawing out more designs. He didn’t have to hide his sketchbook on his knees, this time-- designing outfits was exactly what he was supposed to be doing. After an unhappy lunch break with some clients, Benji walked upstairs to the tailors’ workspaces and stopped at Dan’s. Dan was a little annoyed-- he could work much better without the looming distraction of Benji-- but not at all surprised. 

Benji instructed Dan to show him some designs. With awful trepidation, Dan spun his sketchbook around to face Benji and flipped quickly through a couple of pages. Almost immediately, Benji made a face of disgust.

“You think that’s a suit?” He interrogated. “That’s an abomination!

“Well, I uh--” Dan began, only to be cut off.

“This is ridiculous!” Benji practically yelled. “You work here, and here at Benji Addams Bespoke Tailoring we don’t make clothing like this!” He pointed at one of Dan’s quick sketches, one that Dan quite liked a lot, actually. “You’ve made plenty of suits here before and all Phil wants is a nice tux, not whatever the hell this is. You better come in tomorrow with some better designs to show him, or otherwise you are off the project and perhaps may never be on another project again.”

Dan nodded, dejected. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Get working.” And with that, Benji turned and exited the space.

Dan sighed and turned to open up a new page, drawing the most generic suit possible. He’d let Phil pick whatever he wanted and if he wanted a god-awful, boring-as-hell suit, well, Dan was going to make it the best god-awful, boring-as-hell suit he possibly could. 

 

~~~

 

The next day, Dan sat anxiously sat at his desk. Phil and his manager were to come up to Dan’s workspace in approximately two minutes. 

One minute, now.

And then, soon, Dan saw Phil and the woman that he’d seen in Benji’s office only two days before approaching him. He shifted the position of the chairs slightly, one against two, that were sitting by his desk and gripped the sketchbook in his hands harder.

Phil and his manager were finally standing in front of him, Dan initiating first a professional handshake with Phil’s manager and then one-- a more friendly, more smile-filled one-- to Phil.

“It’s good to see you again, Dan,” Phil said with a grin. 

The three sat down, only for Phil’s manager to push her chair farther away and out of the lopsided triangle that Dan had made.

“Don’t worry about her,” Phil said, voice low, “She trusts me and lets me deal with almost everything by myself unless something really bad happens. She’s letting me choose which design of your’s is the one that I’ll wear.”

Dan nodded back. “Great, then we should get started.”

“Yes please!” Phil said with a smile, his tongue poking out slightly between his teeth and rubbing his hands together like an excited child.

Dan opened his sketchbook to a page marked by a dog-ear in the corner. “The options are all after this page so flip through and tell me what you like the best.”

Phil took the book and flipped through, taking a gander at each of the designs. When he got to the end, though, he shrugged. “They’re all lovely. Wonderful, really. But I noticed…”

“Noticed?” Dan questioned.

“I noticed that in the middle, there, some of those suits were nice. Very nice. But not the sort of thing you normally draw.”

“Yeah,” Dan nodded. “But they’re the sort of thing I’m usually forced to make. Benji told me to be more ‘traditional’ in my designs. So I tried.”

“Well,” Phil said, flipping back to one of those kinds of drawings, “I’m not so much of a fan. Not that I don’t think everything in this sketchbook is wonderful because, yes, I do, but they’re just so…”

“Just so?”

“Just so not you. Truth be told,” Phil leaned closer to Dan and Dan, without realizing it, leaned closer, too. He then lowered his voice once again and said with a smirk, “I want a Dan Howell suit. Not a Benji Addams one.”

A bright blush spread across Dan’s face, his rosy patch on his jawline especially prominent. “Well, uh, don’t tell Benji that. He’ll be furious.”

“Don’t worry,” Phil said, placing a hand on Dan’s knee. Oh god, Dan liked that touch. He liked it so much.  _ Too _ much. “Our secret is safe. It might be a suit from Benji Addams Bespoke Tailoring, but it won’t be Benji Addams’. It’ll be Dan Howell’s, and that’s what I want.  _ You _ .”

If Dan hadn’t been sitting down, his knees would have buckled and he would’ve fallen. And he would’ve liked that position, too, until he’d be absolutely mortified for falling to his knees in front of Phil. So, Dan was glad that he hadn’t been standing.

“So,” Phil began again. “Which one is your favorite?”

Dan took the book back with a smile and flipped to the page. It was a shimmery, cool-colorful drawing of a tuxedo that stretched the bounds of the regular set of norms for such a garment. It was gorgeous-- Dan could admit that to himself-- and all he could hope for was that Phil liked it as much as he did.

When Dan turned the sketchbook to once again face Phil, his ocean-blue eyes widened and he gasped audibly. “I love it. I love it so, so much.” He then took his gaze off of the drawing and back up to Dan. “I’ve worn a lot of clothes in my life, but never something like this. It’s beautiful. Breathtaking. You’re one of the most talented designers-- no,  _ people _ \-- I’ve ever met.”

Dan’s smile grew and grew, dimples deep into his cheeks. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome and yes, that’s it. That’s what I want to wear. It’s astonishing.”

“Wonderful. Now…” Dan looked over at the long measuring tape on his desk and gulped. “I should really get your measurements. Do you want to go to the dressing room or just stay here?” Dan looked over at Phil’s manager, who was now sitting, typing, with her laptop on her knees. 

Phil smirked a little again. “A dressing room sounds nice.”

“Alright…” Dan’s voice wavered. He’d be alone with Phil, and  _ oh god _ , did that make him nervous. Phil turned to address his manager and said a quick, “Dan’s going to do some measurements so we’ll be going to a dressing room. See you in a few.”

Phil’s manager nodded once. Dan took the measuring tape, a notepad, and a pen from off his desk, and soon, the two men were walking down the hall to the dressing rooms. As they passed Lori’s desk, she and Dan made eye contact and she subtly winked, sharing a moment between friends that only they knew about.

They entered a dressing room and god, Dan was torn. He hated the privacy… he loved the privacy. He wanted to run away from Phil, run away from everything, but also he wanted Phil close; he wanted Phil closer-- close, close, close--, he wanted them to be entangled in each other, as close as possible. And then, a sudden, washing-over realization that Dan had a job to be doing hit him, so with a shaky breath he placed the notepad and pen on the small table and took the measuring tape into his hands. 

He robotically spat out his spiel about the measuring procedure, saying, “Please tell me if you’re uncomfortable. We maintain a professional attitude here at Benji Addams and we will try to perform the measuring task as quickly as possible, so not to make you uncomfortable. Again, just say ‘stop’ if you want me to. Thank you.”

“Alright. Go on, then,” Phil said with that same smirk, “Measure me.”

Dan nodded and giggled slightly, measuring his shoulder-width first. Broad.  _ Mmph _ . Dan turned to scribble the length on his notepad. Then his chest. Broad as well. He was awkward as hell, but Dan was getting through it. 

Then Neck. Neck to wrist. Neck to waist. Then,  _ oh god _ , waist.

And _ fuck _ , hips were next. Getting on one knee in front of Phil, Dan measured around Phil’s hips, his touches very light and careful, in order not to do anything inappropriate to the most-off-limits part of anyone’s body that was currently not even six inches from his nose. Dan got up with a sigh to write the measurement and then go back down to his knees, this time on both of them.

Phil broke the silence and simply said, “You look pretty like that.”

At that moment, Dan broke. He smiled, just a little, and blushed once again. “Uh, huh, heh…” he giggled. “Thanks, uh… just one more thing,” he said, although Dan wasn’t thinking about just one more thing. He was thinking of Phil taking him right there and then, suddenly loving the privacy full-force. He shook his head, trying to regain any semblance of thought and took the measuring tape up to the crook of Phil’s thigh. His hand was so close--  _ so, so, close _ \-- but he restrained himself, hating himself for thinking such a horrible thought. “Um, just the inseam,” he said, and he measured the quickest inseam measurement that Dan had ever done.

Brushing himself off, Dan quickly got up from the floor and said, “We’re finished with the measurements. Thanks for being so, um… cooperative.”

“Oh, absolutely no problem,” Phil said with a smile. Dan hated how Phil could go from innocent and sweet to sexy and flirty-as-fuck in mere moments. 

No, actually, Dan loved that. He loved it a lot. 

Dan opened back up the door of the dressing room and they made their way back to Dan’s workspace in an awkward kind of silence. It probably wasn’t awkward for Phil-- Phil probably liked the quiet between them and saw it as calm and friendly, but Dan hated it. Small talk was too little, but anything else was too much.  _ Far _ too much.

Quickly, though, they were back. “I believe,” Dan said, “That that’ll be all for today.  Thank you.”

Phil’s manager stuffed her laptop back into her bag as Phil said, “I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.”

Dan nodded with a slight smile. “Of course.”

“Until then, I wish you good luck.” He then stepped closer to Dan, smirking-- that mischievous and, admittedly, incredibly hot smirk-- and half-whispered a flirty, “Can’t wait to see you again, Dan. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With that, Phil and his manager left. Dan fell into one of the chairs, feeling sort of out-of-breath, sort of like he had repeatedly been hit by a truck, but also sort of like the euphoria that was rushing throughout him would never leave, because this feeling-- it was like something he had never felt before. Dan felt a shiver down his spine as he realized that he was gone… over with; he felt that he could never be the same again. But it was the best kind of gone and over with in the world: Dan was in love.


	3. Chapter 3

The next couple of weeks flew by as Dan chose fabric to use, cut it, and sewed. Each day, now, things were coming together more. Benji stopped in a couple of times to check things and rolled his eyes, but gave Dan the benefit of the doubt whenever he was in, hoping that soon enough the suit would turn into something he thought might actually be presentable and nice-looking. Dan didn’t care what Benji thought, though. He thought the tuxedo-- Phil’s tuxedo-- was coming along very nicely and Dan was ecstatic about it. Dan was so, _so_ ecstatic and he couldn’t wait until he could see Phil once again. Dan hadn’t designed too much, recently, and uploaded only a few new things to Instagram, but whenever he did, he could make sure that Phil would like it within minutes of the post. That always made him smile; he could know that he had passed Phil’s mind a couple of times, at least, over those few weeks because of those likes and, admittedly yes, he liked that a lot.

Soon enough, the next appointment arrived and the suit was almost ready. This second-to-last fitting with a rough version of the suit was to check everything to make sure that it fit well and to at least pin anything on that hadn’t been finished yet. It was the time to check for errors in hemming length or problems in Dan’s seam-stitching.

Phil and his manager walked into Dan’s workspace once again and after Dan shook hands with Phil’s manager and she immediately resigned herself to a chair in the corner, Phil pulled Dan into a hug. A _hug_. Benji wouldn’t like this. Heck, Lori probably would see it as risky and too-friendly to be professional. But Dan? Dan liked this a lot. Dan and Phil were _hugging_ , even if it was just for a second. It was lovely and close and Dan wanted to do it again as soon as Phil pulled away, but he stopped himself.

“So,” Dan began, clasping his hands together, “I’ve got a rough version of the suit ready and I’d like you to try it on. Don’t worry if it doesn’t fit completely properly because that can be changed, and now is the time to say something if you’d like something else altered.”

Phil nodded, “Yes, great. Although, I do doubt that I’d want anything changed about the design.”

Dan and Phil shared a smile before Dan grabbed a pincushion and the folded pile of clothing on the desk and walked towards the hallway. “Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.”

Dan and Phil walked down the hallway as Dan explained the procedure. “So,” he began, “I’ll give you the shirt and trousers for you to put on and then knock on the door when you’re ready. I’ll come into the dressing room with you and try to maintain an air of privacy as I do so, so that no one else can see. If there is any other sort of problem, too, just knock and I’ll be listening, okay?”

“Yup,” Phil said, the two approaching the rooms, “Sounds good to me.”

Dan handed Phil the shirt and trousers and Phil entered the dressing room. Dan waited outside for a couple of minutes before he heard a knock.

“Dan?” Phil said loudly, “I think I need your help.”

Dan opened the door a crack and said, “Coming in.” He closed it close behind him and turned around.

Phil was shirtless. Right in front of him.

Phil had of course modeled without a shirt, before, but this? It was in ultra-HD, real time, and Dan could feel a blush spread over his face.

Phil grabbed the shirt and handed it to Dan. “So, I, uh,” Phil brought his hand back to the nape of his neck, which made Dan’s stomach flutter even faster. “I accidentally ripped off a button and I don’t know where it went, but I figured that since I’m such a klutz and I didn’t want to break anything else, you should probably help me?”

He shrugged and Dan nodded slowly, a smile creeping onto his face. “Yeah,” he breathed out. “I can help you.”

And then, there they were, Dan dressing Phil like he was some king. Dan took Phil’s hand in his and helped each through a sleeve. Phil shimmied the shirt on, and Dan moved back in front of Phil to start to button. It was the bottom that had been ripped off and strewn someplace, and Dan figured that for now, Phil could just tuck it into his trousers and no one would know the difference.

Dan’s fingers shook a little, still, as he tried to button each. It was a row of buttons, the seemingly longest row of buttons that Dan had ever had to button, and each one was honestly, kind of torturous. But still, Dan was close to Phil, his knuckles occasionally grazing a bare chest, and god, did Dan love that.

Phil could notice how hard Dan was concentrating and that was another thing to add to the list of things that he found most endearing about Dan. In a leap of confidence, Phil paused Dan’s buttoning by placing a hand softly on his chin and lifting the other man’s head up.

“Y-yes?” Dan stuttered.

“You’re cute. Adorable, even. Want to get dinner sometime?” Phil asked with a crooked smile; a quirky, crooked, wonderful smile.

Dan’s eyes widened. “Are you… are you serious?” He asked, not believing what he had just heard.

“If you think I am, then yes,” Phil responded, stepping back away from Dan for a moment.

Dan continued to blush-- as if the blush on his rosy cheeks ever went away when in the presence of Phil Lester-- and his smile became bigger, too. Wider, more toothy, more straight-up, flat-out joyous. “I’d love to,” he said, then paused. Suddenly, his smile became sheepish and he shifted his gaze to the ground. “You know, I… uh, I’ve had a crush on you for a while, now.”

He shifted his gaze back up and he and Phil made eye contact once more. “I had a hunch,” Phil said with a shrug and a smirk.

They stood there for a minute, not really saying or doing much, but still standing there with one another in awkward (but not-nearly-as-awkward-as-before) silence. Dan took a step closer to begin buttoning again, but Phil stopped him with a very quick, “Can I kiss you?”

Dan was speechless. He nodded slowly at first, and then very eagerly all at once, and Phil pulled him closer-- close, close, close-- until finally they were kissing.

They were kissing and kissing, Phil’s shirt still half-unbuttoned and Dan’s hand eventually finding the skin there and running his fingers through the dark hair spattered over the expanse of very lovely, porcelain-doll-like white. The kiss became deeper, more charged, more frantic, and Phil forcefully pushed Dan against one of the walls. When he did this, however, Dan’s thigh knocked into the table, a succession of several loud bangs against the one wall, echoing throughout the room. The two froze immediately.

“Fuck,” Dan whispered, but couldn’t help but smile at Phil.

Besides for their heavy breathing, they could hear loud footsteps getting closer outside, and soon a man’s voice asked, “Everything okay in there?”

“Yeah,” Dan said with a giggle. “I just knocked something over. Typical me, you know?”

The man chuckled back. “Of course, Dan, I’ll let you and your customer be.”

Phil breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that was hot until I messed it all up.”

“No, no!” Dan said. “It was great and really, it was my fault. Still, we should probably continue this when there aren’t people ten feet away through the thinnest doors in the world.”

“Yeah,” Phil purred, almost. “Definitely.”

“So, uh,” Dan smiled awkwardly. “Back to work?” He said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Phil nodded. “Back to work.”

 

~~~

 

The rest of fitting had gone great and Dan had gotten everything done that he needed to, despite the distraction of Phil right in front of him. After the fitting, Phil slipped Dan his number with a smile and wink and as soon as Dan got home, he texted Phil. They talked about anything that came to mind, one conversation flowing after another, just joking with each other and sharing stories and getting closer-- close, close, close-- in other ways besides physically. Arguably, the most important thing they did, though, was to set up a date for the next day. The two men went to sleep happy that night, both wearing identical idiotic smiles, and feeling a similar warmness in their hearts.

 

~~~

 

Dan was stitching more crystal beads onto Phil’s tuxedo jacket when Benji paid him a visit the following morning. Dan was smiling to himself and humming gleefully, while Benji, of course, was not.

“What’s got you so happy?” Benji questioned, an edge to his voice as sharp as a blade.

“Oh, nothing,” Dan said with an innocent smile. “I’m just happy how the tux is coming along. Would you like to see it?”

Benji rolled his eyes. “Not now, Dan. I’m a very busy man with things to do and I’ll see it on Phil in a couple of weeks when it’s all finished. Keep working.”

“Of course,” Dan said, not at all with sarcasm in his voice this time. He really was happy to be working on this project for Phil. Phil, _Phil_ , wonderful, glorious, beautiful Phil.

“Go on, then. Keep working,” Benji shouted as he exited the room and strutted down the hallway.

And the thing was, for the first time in a long time, Dan actually wanted to keep working.

 

~~~

 

Phil had picked Dan up with a nice car service and the two were on their way to an expensive kind of restaurant that Dan pretty much never went to. Phil insisted, though-- it was a favorite of his-- and he had connections, anyway, so they could get a private table for two easily in the span of a day.

The two dressed up in somewhat fancy attire, appropriate for such a restaurant and such a date. They shared a peaceful and delicious meal, the two enjoying a glass of wine and an entree each, along with sharing some hors d'oeuvres and a slice of decadent chocolate cake. Phil paid the bill and they were on their way to their next activity: strolling the streets of London and holding hands, enjoying the sights and sounds of pretty shops and the not-so-pretty forever-hustle-and-bustle of the city. They liked it, though, just exploring it together.

The night was getting darker, though, and the hour getting later.

“I want to walk you home,” Phil said with a grin.

“You sure?” Dan questioned. “It’s an awfully long walk from here.”

“Then we can walk together. Or I could call a car and they’d be here in like fifteen minutes, if you’d like that.”

Dan nodded eagerly. “Yeah,” he chuckled, “That’d be nice.”

The two sat on a nearby bench, talking and laughing some more. Soon, a car from the same service as before picked them up and was driving them back to Dan’s.

Dan and Phil sat close to each other, as close as possible in the car, and Dan let his head rest on Phil’s shoulder.

“I want you to stay,” Dan whispered. “Let’s continue what we didn’t get to finish yesterday in the dressing room.”

Phil looked down at Dan with the same smirk as all those smirks before, but there was something more behind it. It wasn’t flirting just because Phil Lester was trained to be charismatic and suave, sexy and smooth with everyone. Dan knew Phil was flirting because he really meant it. He wanted him. And god, did Dan love that.

“I’ll stay with you, Dan. For as long as possible.”

 

~~~

 

Of course, for as long as possible soon came to an end. As long as possible really just referred to that first night, though, and their wild schedules and responsibilities didn’t stop Dan and Phil from texting and meeting with each other otherwise as often as they could.

One day, as Phil’s suit was just being finished up, Lori came in. Dan’s phone was sitting on the table and it buzzed with a text.

“Oh?” She said, smiling at Dan. “Phil? With hearts by his name?”

Dan blushed and shrugged. “Well, uh…”

“Well what, Dan?” She asked.

“He and I… we… we’ve uh…”

Lori giggled. “Come on, Dan, spit it out.”

Dan lowered his voice. “You can’t tell anyone but me and Phil… we’re dating. We’re uh… we’re boyfriends. We’ve been for a little while, now.”

Lori opened her mouth, speechless. “No. Way.”

Dan nodded shyly and tittered, himself. “Yes way, actually.”

“You know how sweet that is? Oh my god, it’s adorable!” She squealed. “But you do know how unprofessional that is, right? If Benji or anyone else higher up finds out, you’ll be fired in an instant.”

“Yeah, I know,” Dan said, sighing. “But Phil?” He began, again. “Phil is special. Our relationship is nothing like I’ve ever had before. I’m willing to take that risk.”

“Oh,” Lori said with a beam, “That’s so cute, so romantic. Love it!”

Dan laughed. “Well, thanks but it’s easy, really. It’s easy to take risks when you love someone else so much. And me? I love Phil.”

 

~~~

 

Today was the day.

It was the day for the final fitting. Benji and Phil’s manager, along with a couple of other important people, sat in the final fitting room. It was special with a little platform in the middle and lots of mirrors. There was a dressing room in the back and benches for people to sit in so they could watch.

Dan and Phil were in the back, Dan putting the final touches onto Phil’s body. He looked gorgeous like this, with the creative, expertly-crafted, almost magical tuxedo against him in all of the right places.

“One more thing,” Dan said, grabbing a body glitter palette and a brush from off of a nearby table. He dabbed the brush in some blue and spread it on Phil’s cheeks, around his eyes, completing the look.

Phil took a quick look in the mirror and gasped. “Dan,” he said, “It’s beautiful.”

“No, you,” Dan said, pulling Phil into a hug and smiling, “You’re beautiful.”

They two giggled. “Now,” Dan said, inhaling a large breath. “We better go out there.”

“They’re going to love it, Dan,” Phil said, reassuringly.

“I hope. But we’ll see, I suppose.”

Dan opened the dressing room door and came out first, followed by Phil. As Phil stepped onto the platform and posed a couple of more natural poses, there was a small chorus of oohs and aahs.

One person, though, didn’t feel as enthralled by the design like the rest.

“That is the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen!” Benji yelled, jumping up from his seat and stomping over to Dan. “This… whatever this is… is disgusting! It’s dreadful! It is the single worst thing I have ever seen come out of this company! I will not let this represent Benji Addams at the Featured Fashion Gala!”

Dan began to breathe heavier, quicker. Tears were forming in his eyes and god, did he hate that Benji could do this to him.

“You know what, Dan Howell?” Benji said, voice raised loud, “You are fired. I never want to see your face again!”

And, _fuck_ , Dan was crying.

Phil ran over to Dan and Benji, giving Dan a quick hug and then approaching Benji. He was angry. Much angrier than Dan had ever seen Phil.

“You!” Phil yelled, almost. “You’ve been terrorizing Dan for years, now. You’ve been terrorizing everyone that has ever worked for you and everyone is sick of it!”

“Well that,” Benji spat, “Is just how things work around here. If you don’t like it, Phil, you can just leave along with Dan.”

Phil crossed his arms. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Benji’s thoughts stopped for a moment. “What did you just say?”

“I said,” Phil cleared his throat, “That I am going to leave. I will not be wearing Benji Addams at the Featured Fashion Gala. Absolutely not.” He stepped closer to Dan once again. “I’ll be wearing my boyfriend’s brand, Dan Howell Designs. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Boyfriend?!” Benji yelled. “Dan, _how dare you?!_ You know that this is absolutely unaccept--”

Dan finally spoke up. “I don’t work for you anymore so you best not try to yell at me.”

“Exactly,” Phil confirmed. He then paused for a moment to look lovingly at one person in the room. “Dan, you’ll be my plus one to the gala, right? It’ll help to get your name out there.”

“Name out there?” Benji continued to yell. “I won’t allow that! That’s ridiculous!”

Dan paid no mind to the fuming Benji Addams only a few feet away. “I’d love to, Phil,” he said with a smile.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Phil said, facing Benji once again. “I’ll have someone come to get Dan's and my things from here, but as of now, we’re gone. We don’t feel safe here, and really, everyone-- no matter if someone in a position of authority thinks that someone else is nothing but a worthless, talentless tailor-boy-- must stand up for themselves.”

And that is exactly what Dan and Phil did. They left Benji Addams Bespoke Tailoring, never to step foot into that place again, and sure enough, Dan Howell Designs kicked off and became successful. It was all thanks to the combination of the two of them, along with some confidence and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of crazy.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Phandom Fic Fests Secret Santa. I hope you enjoy, QuarterLeigh!
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to vsoftdnp (as always, haha :P) for beta reading for me last-minute!


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